


Ballroom Dancing (Klance)

by Is_sa



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Bisexual Lance (Voltron), Gay Keith (Voltron), Hunk and Shay are couple goals omg, Idek what this is save me, Lance (Voltron) in Denial, M/M, hunnay, keith's hips don't lie, klance, lance can't dance to save his life, pidge is a smol angry lesbian
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-05
Updated: 2018-08-05
Packaged: 2019-05-02 16:33:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,083
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14548836
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Is_sa/pseuds/Is_sa
Summary: Lance thought he'd be the only one to find the ballroom in the Castle of LionsHe was wrong. Pidge likes exploring too.Now they're holding a ball, but there's one small problem:Lance can't dance.Oh, but Keith can.There's also a lil twist~(Sorry I'm horrid at summaries)





	1. A Ball Is Born (Alternatively: I Hate Dances)

**Author's Note:**

> Hi Welcome to my horrible fanfic!  
> This was before Lotor wasn't a villain... I just got around to uploading it haha.  
> Any sort of comment would be much appreciated!
> 
> Thanks for reading! You mean the world to me :)
> 
> Edit: oh good he's a villian again   
> get yo snake hands away from my wife  
> well i suppose they are now...   
> (snake hands?)
> 
> im gonna go write now....

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pidge brings up her New Discovery™ she found while exploring the Castle of Lions.   
> Lance complains a bunch about various things, but mostly dancing.
> 
> There's not much to it, it is the exposition.

The castle was big. Of course, there were rooms we hadn't seen yet. Did Pidge have to stumble across that room, though? When I found it I hoped I was the only one who would find it, because I knew what would come next. "Hey, Princess?" started Pidge at dinner that night. Allura, who had just taken a bite of her food, turned her attention to the green paladin with a wide-eyed look that read "Yes?" Pidge set down her fork. "I was wandering the castle today on my way to training, and I found a room… I think it was a ballroom?" I held back a groan but I couldn't hide the slight look of displeasure and terror on my face. Good thing everyone was focused on Pidge now.  
"Why, yes! As a diplomatic family, of course, my father had a ballroom. Oh I have such fond memories of dancing with my father and friends in that ballroom when I was younger!" says Allura and my look of worry grows. Oh please don't say it…  
"I wish we could do it again…" Allura sighs wistfully.  
Quiznak.  
"Well," Hunk began, swallowing a bite of space food. "Maybe we could? We could invite a bunch of people from the alliances! Maybe we could even have the Balmerans come; it'd be great to see Shay again…"  
No no no no oh god no.  
"Hunk, that's a great idea!" Allura exclaimed, a new glimmer in her eyes. "I don't know. Having the doors open and a lot of guests here… That didn't work out so well last time." Saved by the Keith! Also, he makes a good point. "Yeah, what if some galra show up, or some spies get in? Lotor is sneaky." I add. "Lance agrees with Keith? This is a new age," mutters Pidge, and Hunk stifles a laugh. I shoot her a look and she sticks her tongue out at me. "We could have security! Shiro and I could keep a look out for any shady figures. You know, back when I was a young Altean, I had to go through a rigorous training in order to-" As Corran begins on one of his "when-I-was-younger" stories, I begin thinking of ways to avoid the ball. 

See, the thing is, I can't dance. 

I mean, of course, I can make up some moves and such, but ballroom dancing? Nope. Never been able to. I even took classes back on Earth and I still couldn't get the hang of it. I would always step on my partners' toes. They eventually kicked me out of the class after I sprained someone else's toe by accident… My mother gave up on ballroom dancing after that.  
I was jolted out of my thought process when Hunk tapped my shoulder and whispered, "Do you believe this?" I jumped a bit and blinked, replying, "You're actually listening?" Hunk glared at me. "Lance, we're on a completely different subject. We're talking about songs! Now that Corran got some internet, we can look up songs even from Earth,” he whispered. My stomach did a backflip just thinking about Earth. About home. “Okay. Have we decided anything?” he whispered back. “A few… mostly classical. Bach, Mozart, that kind of stuff." I smirked. "Can we sneak in some Ke$ha" Hunk rolled his eyes. I felt a kick under the table. "Lance, no!" Pidge hisspered (that means hiss-whispered. I coined the term myself). "OW Pidge! No need for violence, you little-" "Lance?" I looked up to see Shiro looking at me quizzically. "Yyyyes?" I said cautiously. I obviously had no idea what they were talking about. "What do you think about Allura's idea to have them pay something to dance with the paladins?" he asked. "I… What?" "When I was a little kid and my father held balls here, I remember them trying to raise funds by having the guests pay a small fee to dance with the paladins! I thought we could do that again, seeing as we need funds. Actually… I don't think I can recall us ever actually paying for somethi-"  
"I think it's a great idea, princess," interjected Hunk.  
"Me too" added Pidge.  
"I actually wouldn't mind that," said Keith.  
Well, now it'd look bad if I didn't agree.  
"Sure, Allura. Sounds good!" Now if I could just leave the room without drawing too much attention to silently panic in my bedroom…  
"Princess, shouldn't we have practices first? I'm sure many of us haven't danced in a long time, or even at all," offered Shiro. Oh, come on! That makes everything so much worse. But, maybe with enough practice, I could learn by the ball?  
Who am I kidding? I'm never going to be good at dancing. I've just learned to accept this.  
"Shiro, that's a wonderful idea! We can even use the ballroom!"  
And so it begins.


	2. Midnight Snacks and A Little Too Much Excitement About Altean Clothing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> OUTFITS AAH!!!
> 
> Oh and some slight Klance fluff/kind of langst(?)

"Lance."  
"Lance!"  
"Oh my god, LANCE WAKE UP"  
I'm violently shaken awake by small hands grasping my shoulder and hitting my face. "Ugh... What the hell, Pidge?"  
"Lance, you've had your beauty sleep, now you have GOT to GET UP" Pidge exclaimed, jumping up and down.  
"Dude, what's happening?" I say, rubbing my eyes and moving to sit up. Pidge is smiling like a dork. It's a little creepy, but that's Pidge for you.  
"Allura has outfits. And they look amazing." She put a space between "they", "look", and "amazing" for emphasis. I immediately perked up. "Wait, seriously?" Pidge laughed, "Why would I lie about cool clothes, Lance? OF COURSE I'M SERIOUS!"  
We simultaneously started squealing.

When we got to the rest of the team (except Shiro and Corran, who were meeting with the Arusians about security, so basically just Allura and Hunk) Allura was already showing Hunk some suits that the previous paladins had worn for dances. Hunk was eyeing the old blue paladin's suit with designs along the collar that looked like a galaxy or magic. It was beautiful. When Allura noticed us walk in, she said hello and immediately brought over an array of outfits that she claimed would fit me. She turned to Pidge, "Would you like to wear a dress or a suit? I have plenty of both that will fit you!" I saw Pidge's eyes go wide. Nobody had ever asked her that. "Thanks, Princess! Can I look at both options?" Pidge gushed, a bit more enthusiastically than expected. "Do you just want to look at more cool alien clothes, Pidge?" I whispered as I elbowed her. "Duh, Lance. Duh," she replied as she followed Allura to another corner of her enormous princess closet. I snickered, beginning to look through the suits Allura had given me. They were all stunning, made with a fabric like a mix of silk and cotton, but definitely nothing I'd ever felt before. There was one with shimmering holo, another with a holo-like substance, but it was truly a moving rainbow. There was one with moving stitches, depicting a battle between Voltron and a large alien beast. At the end, when Voltron was victorious, it moved and started over again. My eyes finally fell on a shimmery sky blue suit, accented with fabric that looked exactly like the surface of the ocean, and moved like it too. I immediately took it and tried it on.  
It fit perfectly.  
I definitely didn’t squeal and jump up and down for a solid 10 seconds…

After everyone had picked out their outfits, we all gathered in Allura's bedroom. We all looked around. Everyone looked amazing and high-class, like we should each be holding one of those small champagne glasses and talking with British accents.   
Hunk had chosen a sparkly yellow suit that shimmered in the light, a beautiful golden, paired with a shiny black tie. The top looked like it was made directly from the sun. He looked great.   
Pidge ended up going with a dress after all. She had an off-shoulder dark green dress with those little sleeves. It puffed out at the waist and flowed down, with a small train in the back. The design of beautiful alien plants looked so real, for a second, I thought they were growing out of the hem of the dress. She looked so happy in it, and she looked amazing.   
Allura had a tight light pink dress with blue accents that shimmered when she walked. She also had a tiara with jewels hanging down and into her hair, which was up, but cascading down in the sides. She looked gorgeous.   
Keith had a dark red suit, with accents that looked like red fire in the evening, so real I expected smoke to come off it. He had a black flower that looked like it should turn to ash, but in a good way, you know? He looked nervous in front of everyone. I kind of wanted to assure him that he didn't need to be worried… I mean, he looked crazy good. Definitely better than me. Possibly the best in the room, though I hated to admit it. Maybe this ball wouldn't be so bad…  
Allura clapped her hands and broke the silence. "Well, you all look wonderful! I'm so glad you like the outfits, too. I had been hoping to reuse them someday," she smiled. "Yeah, thanks Allura! These are so cool," Hunk exclaimed. "I love this so much," Pidge agreed, sitting on Allura's bed and playing with the ends of her dress. Allura laughed. "Well, you all should probably hang those up in your own rooms now. Wash up and rest up! Tomorrow we start dancing!"  
I was so hyped up with my new suit, I didn't even mind the impending doom that loomed over me in the form of dance lessons as I showered and put on my nightly Altean face mask.   
Well, I didn't think about it until it was the middle of the night and I woke up in a cold sweat from a nightmare I couldn't remember. My feet felt sore. It hit me what was going to happen tomorrow and a million what-ifs ran through my mind at a million miles per hour. What if I fell? What if the fall sprained my ankle? At least then I wouldn't be able to embarrass myself further. But what if they made me dance anyway? What if I was so bad none of us raised money at the ball? Would Voltron die? Would Haggar and her evil druids make the galra reign over the universe once more while we were still stranded in space with no way to get home? I couldn't get back to sleep with all these horrible ideas in my head. So I went out, rubbing my eyes, not sure where I was heading.  
My feet took me to the kitchen. I figured a midnight snack might clear my head. (Do Alteans have midnight?) As the door slid open (man I love these automatic doors in the castle) I heard movement in the kitchen. I flinched, only to realize it was only Keith.  
"Hey, man. Couldn't sleep either?" I asked.  
"I guess... I'm just not that tired. What about you?"  
"Oh.… I.. Uh…" Did I want to tell him I had a slight panic attack about how I can't dance and now I can't get back to sleep?  
"Let me guess: You're nervous. Honestly, so am I. I don't think I'm a great dancer. I'm also not the most popular paladin, so at least not a lot of people will want to dance with me."  
"I'd want to dance with you!" I blurted, immediately regretting it. I don't like seeing my friends upset, especially when I'm already upset. Sometimes I just say whatever I think they'd want to hear without thinking about it first. Not that I wouldn't want to dance with him though, I'd just make a huge fool of myself if I did.  
"Oh, thanks, Lance. That's… really nice of you. Maybe I'll take you up on that offer." Not the answer I was expecting but… wait… is he… blushing? It's not much, but I'm pretty sure he is. Oh god. Now I'm blushing too. This is awkward. I'll say anything to break this silence. A small part of my head says "tell him that why you're really here". Okay, anything but that. "So, uh, what brings you to the kitchen?" I ask. Smooth, Lance. Great conversation starter.  
"Midnight Snack. Maybe it'll help me sleep. You?"  
"Same thing… Hey," I begin. "You said you didn't think you were a great dancer? But you can dance, yeah?"  
"Yeah. I mean, I guess I can. I took lessons and I didn't fall on my face, so I suppose I was good." I fell on my face. A lot. I feel my face get warm with embarrassment.  
"Why?" Keith asked.  
"Well, ugh, this is weird to say, but I can't. Dance, I mean. It's super embarrassing. I tried taking lessons and stuff, but I was never any good," I found myself pouring out all the crap I didn’t want to think about. It felt good. "Every time I would try, I would step on someone else's toes, or trip them, or trip myself, or mess up in any possible way. Eventually, my mom had to take me out of dance lessons. I'm still sad about it because I did really like it. Music is a big part of my life, and I just wish I could move to it well. That sounds stupid, I know, but it didn't sound as stupid when I was lying awake in bed, sweating, because I was scared my bad dancing would scare away anyone from donating to Voltron at all, then Voltron would fall and we wouldn't be able to stand up to the galra and they would regain control over the universe and we would all be enslaved to them and all of us would be stranded slaves in space with no way of getting back home." I finished, tears breaking through my eyes and slowly rolling down my cheeks.  
"Lance…" Keith sighed, setting his cup down on the counter and opening his arms slightly and comfortingly for a hug. His expression looks so genuinely concerned, which only made me feel worse. Though, if he looked mad or happy or anything else, I'd still feel worse. Nevertheless, the tears started coming faster, and I leaned forward as Keith stepped towards me and wrapped me in a bear hug I didn't think possible for someone of his size.  
I sniffed after a bit and Keith gently let me step back. "I've never told anyone all that…" I said quietly. Keith smiled warmly. "I'm glad you told me. Keeping all that bottled up would've killed you eventually. And, if you want, I could teach you how to dance?" he offered. I looked up. No one ever asked me to dance, even if it was just lessons. "I told you, I took lessons before. I'd probably end up getting your wrist sprained-"  
"You got someone's wrist sprained?" Keith interrupted incredulously. I winced. "I'm sorry… I didn't mean to- Maybe it'll be easier to learn one-on-one? And with someone you already know?" Keith recommended. "I… I don't know. Maybe? I think I'll tell all that to the group tomorrow, though. It'll be easier now that I've already told you," I sighed. "I'm going to try to go back to sleep. 'Night, Keith."  
"'Night, Lance. Hope you get to sleep."

It took me a little while to actually fall asleep, but at least the anxiety had calmed down, more or less. I prepped myself for tomorrow.  
I was totally (read: not at all) ready.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IDK WHY BUT I LIKE THIS CHAPTER A LOT JAJFLKFSLF
> 
> Altean clothes just seem like such a cool thing to me, like with all the tech they have, they could make the coolest stuff. Altea looked so amazing from what we've seen, there's so much more opportunity for this stuff than on Earth.  
> I mean truly, compared, Earth is super lame.
> 
> Christ I really AM Pidge...


	3. Day One Of Torture, Also Known As Dance Lessons With My Rival

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keep your friends close and your enemies a LOT closer.

We started later in the day, thank god, I actually slept in. All of us gathered in the ballroom and stood in a line before Allura. Was I really going to tell them? I guess so…  
Allura began to explain how the practices were going to be set up: "Each of you will get a partner-" I glanced over at Keith. He glanced over at me. I looked away quickly. "-to practice with. At the end of the week, we will hold the ball. During this time, Coran, Shiro, and I will be making other preparations. While you all will be practicing, you will also be helping with the preparations. Does that sound good?" Everyone nodded their heads. I gulped. "Um…" I started. Everyone turned to me. I'm not sure if that’s good or not. "Before we start… dancing, I should say, I-" I choked on my words. Why was this so hard? It must have been really obvious I was nervous because everyone looked concerned. I felt Keith press the back of his hand on mine. I felt my face get hot.  
"I can't dance."  
The group blinked. "I'm sure you're fine, Lance," Pidge said. "Yeah," Hunk replied, "We're all practicing."  
I sighed. "No, I mean, I really can't. I even took lessons when I was younger. When I danced, I would always step on them, or trip them, or I would fall. I would mess up in literally any way possible. I even sprained someone's wrist once," I looked at Keith. He smiled lightly. How come I didn't notice how… how pretty that was before? I mean, I had to notice his smile was cute, I'd be dumb not to. It's common knowledge. "It sounds silly, I know, but I really like dancing. I want to be able to. So, I'm going to try my best this week. I don't know if I'll be able to do it, but I'm sure I'll be a little better, so…" I continued and sighed. "This sounds a lot worse out loud," I finished.   
It was silent for a tick, and that was the worst tick of my life.   
"I'm sorry, Lance. We'll do what we can to help, and I'm sure we're all just as bad at something we love," Offered Allura. "Yeah," said Pidge. "I love horseback riding, but all horses are scared of me. Also, I've always been too short for it. One time I fell off and broke my arm." She laughed. Laughed. How? I'd be terrified if that happened to me. I wouldn't be able to look at a horse again!  
"I think the best thing in these situations is to keep trying," Said Shiro, placing his hand on my shoulder.  
"Thanks, guys. This means a lot to me…"  
"I promise, by the end of this week, you'll practically be a pro," Keith says, giving me a sideways smile of encouragement. Well, that's certainly new. Despite the creeping feeling, it's only out of pity, I laugh along with the rest of the group.  
These guys never fail to make me feel better. I don't know what I'd do without them.  
As much as I miss my family on Earth, I still have a family here.

Allura splits us off into pairs. Pidge and Hunk, Keith and I. She says she'll dance around with each of us occasionally. We all agree she's the best dancer out of us; she's been dancing since she was three while most of us haven't at all.   
"Alright, Paladins. Do we all know the box step?" Allura begins. Pidge nods slowly, although she looks slightly confused. I knew what it was, it's the most basic step that's used in most ballroom dances, but I hadn't danced in so long I wasn't sure I could even do that. "Oh! Isn't that the one with the four steps that make a box?" Hunk chimed. Allura chuckled. "Yes, Hunk, that's the one. You should all learn this first, as it's used in many dances." She began to explain the dance: right steps right, left closes the gap, right steps behind, left steps spaced apart but in line with the right, then steps where you began, and repeats. We do this a few times on our own before Allura asks us to do it with the music. Hunk is surprisingly graceful, Keith is doing it like he's been doing it all his life, which, to be fair, he might have been. Pidge and I tripped quite a bit, but Pidge got ahold of it way before I did. Surprisingly, after a while, I got it down. I stopped tripping. It felt awesome. I could do this!  
Just as I was perfecting it, Allura paused the music. "Now, try to do it with your partner!" Pidge shot a glance at me and snickered. I stuck my tongue out at her. Just because Keith and I were dancing together didn't mean we weren't still rivals. You can learn a lot from your enemy.   
"Put your hands on me." My head snapped back to Keith as Allura walked over to Pidge and Hunk. "I- What?" I stuttered. I felt my face get warm. Keith rolled his eyes. "Obviously, I'm leading. But you need to put your hands," he grabbed my wrists, "here and here." He placed my left hand on his right arm and my hand in his left, holding them up and placing his right hand in the center of my back. My face definitely got warmer. "This is… kinda gay," I say awkwardly. "It's only gay if you want it to be, Lance. Do you want it to be?" he counters. "No! No, I don't," I say, maybe a little too enthusiastically. But I don't! That's gross. Keith? No. Never. I definitely don't want that… Right?  
"We should probably practice," Keith says, sounding annoyed. I hadn't even noticed that Allura's had the music on for a bit now. "Yeah," I said, the blush fading from my face as I tried to focus on what I had just practiced. "So, it's basically the same thing, yeah?" I looked down at our feet. Allura had given us dress shoes that were roughed up versions of the ones we'd be wearing. "Yeah," Keith agreed. "But you have to move your feet between mine as I move mine between yours."  
"It sounds really difficult when you put it like that…" I say, attempting to figure out what he meant. "Here. I'll start," Keith offers. "I mean, I'm leading anyway," he mutters and steps forward for the first step of the box. I immediately stumble and try to get into the box step.   
It takes me three minutes before I finally fall in step, and even then I'm still tripping. Allura has mostly been sticking to Hunk and Pidge, teaching them the details of it. Honestly, I'm thankful for that. If she came over now I'd probably end up falling on my elbow and taking Keith down with me (I have a tendency to grab whatever I can when I feel myself falling).

The rest of the afternoon is spent practicing box stepping with a partner. Allura does come over once, but thankfully that was after I had already stopped to regain some balance. When I finally get to go back to my room, I'm sore and exhausted. It seems like the others are, too. I collapse onto my bed and sigh. I haven't had a moment to myself and this feels like heaven. I take off my shoes and jacket, turn off the light, and close my eyes, not bothering to take off my clothes. I try to clear my thoughts and establish a nice breathing pattern. This is usually fairly easy, but tonight my head is spinning. I have those stupid waltz-y songs in my head and Keith comment keeps replaying.  
"Do you want it to be?"  
I keep telling myself, no, but there's a tiny, annoying voice in the back of my mind that doubts that. "If you don't want it to be, then why do you blush every time you mess up in front of him?" it says. "I would do that in front of anyone!" I retort.  
"Okay… sure… But why do you feel the need to impress him?"  
"Because he's annoying and thinks he's better than me! And I don't feel the need to impress him."  
"Why are you even that annoyed with him?"  
"I just said! He thinks he's better than everyone!"  
"When has he ever acted like that without you provoking him?"  
I pause at that. I think. I think hard. I can't think of anything.  
Quiznak.   
"Okay, if you're so smart, why do you think I'm annoyed by him?" I say quietly to my room. The voice doesn't respond.   
I turn over and go to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't worry, Lance. I love writing but I'm obviously awful at it :,)
> 
> I appreciate you all so so SO much, you have no idea how much each kudos and hit means to me. (Seriously, whenever I get the notif I got a kudos, I squeal like a baby).


End file.
